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4.62 AVERAGE
4.62 AVERAGE
dark
hopeful
informative
tense
medium-paced
A good book on the civil war in Syria. Tells the story of many people who lived in Syria or escaped. It is sad to read, but there is a lot of hope and wisdom in each story. I would recommend this one. It can be a bit choppy to read, but in general i liked it
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
fast-paced
Collection of first-hand accounts of those affected by the Syrian civil war. The way that Pearlman compiled and organized the accounts thematically rather than by individual interviewed really made the book more interesting.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
It feels strange to rate a book like this. Because I don’t want to be rating a person’s struggles, trauma, losses... but the way Wendy Pearlman put these fragments of people’s stories and thoughts, combined with the introduction, really helps for those even not deeply familiar with details of what has happened in Syria to understand what those ‘news events’ mean for very real human beings.
If someone wants to try and understand what’s going on in Syria from the perspective of those who ultimately felt they had no choice but to flee their country and everything this once knew, I think this book will really help you to that. It can be hard at some points to process what you read is something that really happened. Not just that, but recently happened. But, I think especially because of that it’s important to know stories like those shared in this books pages.
If someone wants to try and understand what’s going on in Syria from the perspective of those who ultimately felt they had no choice but to flee their country and everything this once knew, I think this book will really help you to that. It can be hard at some points to process what you read is something that really happened. Not just that, but recently happened. But, I think especially because of that it’s important to know stories like those shared in this books pages.
Many times I heard or saw comments on Facebook with Faith in Humanity restored. What does that have to do with a book about Syria? I will tell you what I think it has to do with it. I think it is shallow. There, one word, covering all that I think about. "Busdriver helping mom with pram into the bus." Yes? You could have done that as well? Even I have to admit that l like to read them, that it brings little smiles to my face but then when a read a book like this, my smile disappears again for a bit.
I don't want to say it's bad to enjoy the little things in life, such as the twitter messages of faith in Humanity restored. But it would be nice if we all took a step like that if we were all trying to change the faith in Humanity. I have wanted to write for so long about things I see on Social Media that make me wonder: why? Why do you do this? Hate messages spread so easily and to be honest, 90% of the time they are not even right. And the reason why I needed to read this book was to understand things so much better and I am already trying to see the world from a more neutral angle, not just me, but the world. Yet I wanted to read this book to get a better understanding. I will never understand completely what it feels like and I am also not saying that I want that. But the hypocritical comments of Facebook need to tone down. I do have to admit that in the last years I do not bump into these posts as much, maybe Facebook changed, maybe I am just "there" less to see them. Which can be pretty accurate as I deleted the app on my phone to just hang out with the real world some more and to not look at all the predisposed posts.
Facebook or other platforms on social media make it so easy to immediately give an opinion and I agree that is okay, after all, we (especially in The Netherlands) have freedom of speech. Why not use it? Because even if we have an opinion, I do support very badly, to state facts over your opinions. Form an opinion over the right facts. You see when I had my internship for the Council of Refugee, there was this immigrant crisis and the hate spreading on Facebook, let's say it in Facebook style: It was cry-able. Blaming the Syrians that there were no houses for the Dutch, blaming them as if they were criminals. The news totally jumping into that. So to read the other point of view, the one that should matter the most, it's cry-able in a different way. It hurts me to realize what people had to go through and I wasn't even there. It's sadness and I wasn't even there. These people had to go through so much while someone in the Western world, someone in Europe, is sitting on his or her ass, complaining on Facebook. Well excuse you, imagine what it is to leave everything behind while you just want to stay home.
This writing is what made it best, different voices, chained together in a unison voice because it’s the same. It’s one country, it’s their home. It would be nice if this could be their home too. We speak about Democracy in my country as if it is a bad thing, surely not all but a big part does. That the European Union is a bad thing. I would like for all those people that think that, to come with a solution, what’s better than Democracy? Would we like a dictator? Someone that uses every other way to keep the reign for our country and to just do whatever he or she thinks it’s best? Just watching innocent people die or get tortured? I think democracy might not be bad, might need an upgrade every now or then but that still makes it democracy. And if you do not blame democracy but the European Union in general, try to come up with a solution yourself for the immigrant crisis. Because people are still out there, waiting for the procedure to start, normally it would be 8 days now it might be closer to one and a half year.
Is it so much to ask, to look outside your own box, outside your own house, province, state and see with open eyes what is going on? You don’t have to come up with a solution, you just take that one step and become your own Faith in Humanity restored.
I don't want to say it's bad to enjoy the little things in life, such as the twitter messages of faith in Humanity restored. But it would be nice if we all took a step like that if we were all trying to change the faith in Humanity. I have wanted to write for so long about things I see on Social Media that make me wonder: why? Why do you do this? Hate messages spread so easily and to be honest, 90% of the time they are not even right. And the reason why I needed to read this book was to understand things so much better and I am already trying to see the world from a more neutral angle, not just me, but the world. Yet I wanted to read this book to get a better understanding. I will never understand completely what it feels like and I am also not saying that I want that. But the hypocritical comments of Facebook need to tone down. I do have to admit that in the last years I do not bump into these posts as much, maybe Facebook changed, maybe I am just "there" less to see them. Which can be pretty accurate as I deleted the app on my phone to just hang out with the real world some more and to not look at all the predisposed posts.
Facebook or other platforms on social media make it so easy to immediately give an opinion and I agree that is okay, after all, we (especially in The Netherlands) have freedom of speech. Why not use it? Because even if we have an opinion, I do support very badly, to state facts over your opinions. Form an opinion over the right facts. You see when I had my internship for the Council of Refugee, there was this immigrant crisis and the hate spreading on Facebook, let's say it in Facebook style: It was cry-able. Blaming the Syrians that there were no houses for the Dutch, blaming them as if they were criminals. The news totally jumping into that. So to read the other point of view, the one that should matter the most, it's cry-able in a different way. It hurts me to realize what people had to go through and I wasn't even there. It's sadness and I wasn't even there. These people had to go through so much while someone in the Western world, someone in Europe, is sitting on his or her ass, complaining on Facebook. Well excuse you, imagine what it is to leave everything behind while you just want to stay home.
This writing is what made it best, different voices, chained together in a unison voice because it’s the same. It’s one country, it’s their home. It would be nice if this could be their home too. We speak about Democracy in my country as if it is a bad thing, surely not all but a big part does. That the European Union is a bad thing. I would like for all those people that think that, to come with a solution, what’s better than Democracy? Would we like a dictator? Someone that uses every other way to keep the reign for our country and to just do whatever he or she thinks it’s best? Just watching innocent people die or get tortured? I think democracy might not be bad, might need an upgrade every now or then but that still makes it democracy. And if you do not blame democracy but the European Union in general, try to come up with a solution yourself for the immigrant crisis. Because people are still out there, waiting for the procedure to start, normally it would be 8 days now it might be closer to one and a half year.
Is it so much to ask, to look outside your own box, outside your own house, province, state and see with open eyes what is going on? You don’t have to come up with a solution, you just take that one step and become your own Faith in Humanity restored.
I absolutely LOVED this book. The situation in Syria is so complicated, and while we often like to believe we know what’s going on, I can admit I still struggle to understand. This book is laid out in a way where you get a little history lesson before each part, and then you will have testimonies from people who are living there, around there, or have lived there, relevant to that part of time. Some of these testimonies are several pages long, eloquent narratives that could stand alone as short stories; others are only a few sentences, poetic and aphoristic. It is one of the most beautiful books I have read and if I could send everyone I copy I would!
A first hand view of a crazy heartbreaking situation. Not the best book to bring on a beach vacation if you don't want to feel guilty about your life...
This book is great if you want to understand the human side of the Syrian revolution. It collects the voices of many Syrians, talking about their lives before, during, and after the revolution. They come from all sections of society and from all sorts of religious and political backgrounds. The book gives a very rounded picture, with the great triumphs, but also the negative aspects of the revolution spotlighted by people who actually lived through it.
The author, Wendy Pearlman, is more of an editor than an author in the traditional sense. She collected, translated and arranged the these eyewitness accounts, and placed them into context with each other, so that a sequence of different voices tells a story that is more than the sum of its parts. But she does not intervene as a narrator, instead letting the Syrian voices collected in the book do their own talking.
The author, Wendy Pearlman, is more of an editor than an author in the traditional sense. She collected, translated and arranged the these eyewitness accounts, and placed them into context with each other, so that a sequence of different voices tells a story that is more than the sum of its parts. But she does not intervene as a narrator, instead letting the Syrian voices collected in the book do their own talking.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced